In September, the ‘Candle in the Wind’ singer said he wanted to sit down with the Russian president to discuss his concerns over gay rights in the country. In 2013, Russia introduced a much-condemned law which makes it illegal to teach those under 18 about LGBT communities. Sir Elton hoped the chat might come to fruition after he sat down with President Petro Poroshenko to discuss gay rights in Ukraine.

After Sir Elton expressed an initial desire to meet Mr Putin last year he fell victim to a highly-publicised hoax phone call by Russian radio presenters pretending to be Mr Putin. Sir Elton responded by saying while pranks may be funny, homophobia is not. However, after the mishap, Mr Putin’s spokesperson told Russian press the president has contacted Sir Elton and offered to meet with him at some point.

As Sir Elton is visiting the country to perform in Moscow this month some thought the occasion might be then, however Mr Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists this week that both men’s schedules were too busy.

“We were in correspondence with him [Sir Elton] a couple of weeks ago, because there had been an agreement that, if their schedules allow, this meeting would take place.

“President Putin expressed readiness for this meeting. But this time, the meeting won’t take place, unfortunately,” Mr Peskov said. “Their schedules do not match up. But the does not mean that such a meeting won’t take place next time.”

President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that Russia does not discriminate against gays and that millions of Russians love pop icon Elton John “despite his orientation”, as he sought to defuse calls from gay rights activists to boycott the Winter Olympics.

In an interview with foreign journalists less than three weeks before the opening of the Olympics in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Putin reiterated that Russia would welcome all athletes and visitors, regardless of their sexuality.

“People have different sexual orientation. We will welcome all athletes and all guests of the Olympics,” he said.

By way of example, he praised John, who is openly gay, as “an outstanding person (and) outstanding musician”.

“Millions of our people sincerely love him despite his orientation,” Putin said.

Gay rights activists have criticised the Russian strongman for a recent law banning the dissemination of so-called “gay propaganda” to minors.

John himself spoke out against the law during a sold-out Moscow concert last month.

“I am deeply saddened and shocked over the current legislation that is now in place against the (homosexual) community here in Russia,” he said.

“In my opinion, it is inhumane and it is isolating. Harmony is what makes a happy family and a strong society.”

The 66-year-old Briton has a long history of performances in Russia, beginning with a groundbreaking concert in 1979 that made him a household name in the then-Soviet Union.

He ignored calls to cancel his December concerts in the wake of the “gay propaganda” law, saying Russia’s gays and lesbians would feel abandoned if big-name performers did not come for visits and offer them support.

Putin said Sunday the law “does not offend anyone”.

“People with non-traditional sexual orientation cannot feel like they are second-rate because they are in no way discriminated against: not professionally, not career-wise, not when it comes to recognition by society,” he said.

The Russian strongman also downplayed planned no-shows at the Olympics by Western leaders including US President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande.

Sir Elton tells Music Week, “The worst thing to do is to rush people to have a record out. They’ll make a record when they’re ready and it comes out when it is ready.”

Last year, Sir Elton said: “I’m not a fan of talent shows. I probably wouldn’t have lasted if I’d gone on one. I like Simon Cowell, but what he does is TV entertainment. I was asked to judge American Idol. I couldn’t do it because I won’t slag anyone off. Also, I don’t want to be on television. It’s become boring, arse-paralysingly brain crippling.”

“There have been some good acts, but the only way to sustain a career is to pay your dues in small, s**t clubs. TV vaults you to superstardom and then you have to back it up, which is hard.”

He added: “It’s important they write their own songs, so they’re not at the mercy of anyone. Songwriters today are pretty awful, which is why everything sounds the same. Contemporary pop isn’t very inspiring.

“Leona Lewis and Alexandra Burke are at the mercy of the next song they can get. Susan Boyle was an endearing phenomenon, but I fear she might not understand the rigours of showbusiness.”

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He has worked with his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.

Biography and career

Early life

John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947, the eldest child of Stanley and only child of Sheila Eileen (née Harris) Dwight[9][10][11] and was raised in Pinner, Middlesex in a council house of his maternal grandparents. His parents did not marry until he was 6 years old, when the family moved to a nearby semi-detached house.[12][13][14] He was educated at Pinner Wood Junior School, Reddiford School and Pinner County Grammar School, until age 17, when he left just prior to his A Level examinations to pursue a career in the music industry.[15][16][17]

When John began to seriously consider a career in music, his father, who served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force, tried to steer him toward a more conventional career, such as banking.[15] John has stated that his wild stage costumes and performances were his way of letting go after such a restrictive childhood.[17] Both of John’s parents were musically inclined, his father having been a trumpet player with the Bob Millar Band, a semi-professional big band that played at military dances.[17] The Dwights were keen record buyers, exposing John to the popular singers and musicians of the day, and John remembers being immediately hooked on rock and roll when his mother brought home records by Elvis Presley and Bill Haley & His Comets in 1956.[15][16]

John started playing the piano at the age of 3, and within a year, his mother heard him picking out Winifred Atwell‘s “The Skater’s Waltz” by ear.[15][16] After performing at parties and family gatherings, at the age of 7 he took up formal piano lessons. He showed musical aptitude at school, including the ability to compose melodies, and gained some notoriety by playing like Jerry Lee Lewis at school functions. At the age of 11, he won a junior scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music. According to one of his instructors, John promptly played back, like a “gramophone record”, a four-page piece by Handel that he heard for the first time.[16]

For the next five years he attended Saturday classes at the Academy in central London, and has stated that he enjoyed playing Chopin and Bach and singing in the choir during Saturday classes, but that he was not otherwise a diligent classical student.[16] “I kind of resented going to the Academy”, he says. “I was one of those children who could just about get away without practicing and still pass, scrape through the grades.”[16] He even claims that he would sometimes skip classes and just ride around on the Tube.[16] However, several instructors have testified that he was a “model student”, and during the last few years he was taking lessons from a private tutor in addition to his classes at the Academy.[16]

John’s mother, though also strict with her son, was more vivacious than her husband, and something of a free spirit. With Stanley Dwight uninterested in his son and often physically absent, John was raised primarily by his mother and maternal grandmother. When his father was home, the Dwights would have terrible arguments that greatly distressed their son.[16] John was 15 when they divorced. His mother then married a local painter, Fred Farebrother, a caring and supportive stepfather who John affectionately referred to as “Derf”, his first name in reverse.[16] They moved into flat No. 1A in an eight-unit apartment building called Frome Court, not far from both previous homes. It was there that John would write the songs that would launch his career as a rock star; he would live there until he had four albums simultaneously in the American Top 40.[18]

Pub pianist to staff songwriter (1962–1969)

At the age of 15, with the help of his mother and stepfather, Reginald Dwight became a weekend pianist at a nearby pub, the Northwood Hills Hotel, playing Thursday to Sunday nights for £35 a week and tips.[19][20] Known simply as “Reggie”, he played a range of popular standards, including songs by Jim Reeves and Ray Charles, as well as songs he had written himself.[21][22] A stint with a short-lived group called the Corvettes rounded out his time.[16]

After failing lead vocalist auditions for King Crimson and Gentle Giant, Dwight answered an advertisement in the New Musical Express placed by Ray Williams, then the A&R manager for Liberty Records.[24] At their first meeting, Williams gave Dwight a stack of lyrics written by Bernie Taupin, who had answered the same ad. Dwight wrote music for the lyrics, and then mailed it to Taupin, beginning a partnership that still continues[update]. In 1967, what would become the first Elton John/Bernie Taupin song, “Scarecrow”, was recorded; when the two first met, six months later, Dwight was going by the name “Elton John”, in homage to Bluesology saxophonist Elton Dean and Long John Baldry.[21]

The team of John and Taupin joined Dick James‘s DJM Records as staff songwriters in 1968, and over the next two years wrote material for various artists, like Roger Cook and Lulu.[25] Taupin would write a batch of lyrics in under an hour and give it to John, who would write music for them in half an hour, disposing of the lyrics if he couldn’t come up with anything quickly.[25] For two years, they wrote easy-listening tunes for James to peddle to singers. Their early output included a contender for the British entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1969, for Lulu, called “Can’t Go On (Living Without You)”. It came sixth of six songs. In 1969, John also provided piano for Roger Hodgson on his first ever musical recording.[26]

Debut album to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1969–1973)

On the advice of music publisher Steve Brown, John and Taupin started writing more complex songs for John to record for DJM. The first was the single “I’ve Been Loving You” (1968), produced by Caleb Quaye, former Bluesology guitarist. In 1969, with Quaye, drummer Roger Pope, and bassist Tony Murray, John recorded another single, “Lady Samantha“, and an album, Empty Sky.

For their follow-up album, Elton John, John and Taupin enlisted Gus Dudgeon as producer and Paul Buckmaster as musical arranger. Elton John was released in the April 1970 on DJM Records/Pye Records in the UK and Uni Records in the USA, and established the formula for subsequent albums; gospel-chorded rockers and poignant ballads. The first single from the album, “Border Song“, made into the US Top 100, peaking at Number 92. The second single “Your Song” made the US Top Ten, peaking at number eight and becoming John’s first hit single as a singer. The album soon became his first hit album, reaching number four on the Billboard 200 album chart.[28]

The concept album Tumbleweed Connection was released in October 1970, and reached the Top Ten on the Billboard 200. The live album 17-11-70 (11-17-70 in the US) was recorded at a live show aired from A&R Studios on WABC-FM in New York City. Sales of the live album were heavily hit in the US when an east coast bootlegger released the performance several weeks before the official album, including all 60 minutes of the aircast, not just the 40 minutes selected by Dick James Music.[30]

Rocket Records to 21 at 33 (1974–1979)

John formed his own MCA-distributed label Rocket Records and signed acts to it – notably Neil Sedaka (“Bad Blood”, on which he sang background vocals) and Kiki Dee – in which he took personal interest. Instead of releasing his own records on Rocket, he opted for $8 million offered by MCA. When the contract was signed in 1974, MCA reportedly took out a $25 million insurance policy on John’s life.[34]

In 1974 a collaboration with John Lennon took place, resulting in Elton John covering The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” and Lennon’s “One Day at a Time”, and in return Elton John and band being featured on Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You thru the Night“. In what would be Lennon’s last live performance, the pair performed these two number 1 hits along with the Beatles classic “I Saw Her Standing There” at Madison Square Garden. Lennon made the rare stage appearance to keep the promise he made that he would appear on stage with Elton if “Whatever Gets You Thru The Night” became a number 1 single.[35]

Pete Townshend of The Who asked John to play a character called the “Local Lad” in the film of the rock opera Tommy, and to perform a song named “Pinball Wizard“. Drawing on power chords, John’s version was recorded and used for the movie release in 1975 and the single came out in 1976 (1975 in the US). The song charted at number 7 in England. Bally subsequently released a “Captain Fantastic” pinball machine featuring an illustration of John in his movie guise.

Elton John performing live in 1975

In the 1975 autobiographical album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy, John revealed his previously ambiguous personality, with Taupin’s lyrics describing their early days as struggling songwriters and musicians in London. The lyrics and accompanying photo booklet are infused with a specific sense of place and time that is otherwise rare in John’s music. “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” was the hit single from this album and captured an early turning point in John’s life.

The album’s release signalled the end of the Elton John Band, as an unhappy and overworked John dismissed Olsson and Murray, two people who had contributed much of the band’s signature sound and who had helped build his live following since the beginning. Johnstone and Ray Cooper were retained, Quaye and Roger Pope returned, and the new bassist was Kenny Passarelli; this rhythm section provided a heavier-sounding backbeat. James Newton-Howard joined to arrange in the studio and to play keyboards. John introduced the lineup before a crowd of 75,000 in London’s Wembley Stadium.

Rock-oriented Rock of the Westies entered the US albums chart at number 1 like Captain Fantastic, a previously unattained feat. Elton John’s stage wardrobe now included ostrich feathers, $5,000 spectacles that spelled his name in lights, and dressing up like the Statue of Liberty, Donald Duck, or Mozart among others at his concerts.[37][38]

To celebrate five years since he first appeared at the venue, in 1975 John played a two-night, four-show stand at The Troubadour. With seating limited to under 500 per show, the chance to purchase tickets was determined by a postcard lottery, with each winner allowed two tickets. Everyone who attended the performances received a hardbound “yearbook” of the band’s history. That year he also played piano on Kevin Ayers‘ Sweet Deceiver, and was among the first and few white artists to appear on the black music series Soul Train on American television.[33]

Besides being the most commercially successful period, 1970 – 1976 is also held in the most regard critically. Within only a three year span, between 1972-75 John saw seven consecutive albums reach Number 1 in the charts, which had not been accomplished before.[33] Of the six Elton John albums to make the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in Rolling Stone’in 2003, all are from this period, with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road ranked highest at number 91; similarly, the three Elton John albums given five stars by Allmusic (Tumbleweed Connection, Honky Château, and Captain Fantastic) are all from this period too.

During the same period, John made a guest appearance on the popular Morecambe and Wise Show on the BBC. The two comics spent the episode pointing him in the direction of everywhere except the stage in order to prevent him singing.[40]

In November 1977 John announced he was retiring from performing; Taupin began collaborating with others. Now only producing one album a year, John issued A Single Man in 1978, employing a new lyricist, Gary Osborne; the album produced no singles that made the Top 20 in the US but the two singles from the album released in the UK, Part-Time Love and Song for Guy, both made the Top 20 in the UK with the latter reaching the Top 5. In 1979, accompanied by Ray Cooper, John became the first Western pop star to tour the Soviet Union (as well as one of the first in Israel), then mounted a two-man comeback tour of the US in small halls. John returned to the singles chart with “Mama Can’t Buy You Love” (number 9, 1979), a song originally rejected in 1977 by MCA before being released, recorded in 1977 with Philadelphia soul producer Thom Bell.[41] Elton reported that Thom Bell was the first person to give him voice lessons; Bell encouraged John to sing in a lower register. A disco-influenced album, Victim of Love, was poorly received. In 1979, John and Taupin reunited. 21 at 33, released the following year, was a significant career boost, aided by his biggest hit in four years, “Little Jeannie” (number 3 US), although the lyrics were written by Gary Osborne.

He married his close friend and sound engineer, Renate Blauel on Valentine’s Day 1984 – the marriage lasted three years.[42] The Biography Channel Special detailed the loss of Elton’s voice in 1986 while on tour in Australia. Shortly thereafter he underwent throat surgery, which permanently altered his voice. Several non-cancerous polyps were removed from his vocal cords, resulting in a change in his singing voice.[43] In 1987 he won a libel case against The Sun which published allegations of sex with rent boys.[44]

With original band members Johnstone, Murray and Olsson together again, John was able to return to the charts with the 1983 hit album Too Low For Zero, which included “I’m Still Standing” and “I Guess That’s Why They Call It the Blues“, the latter of which featured Stevie Wonder on harmonica and reached number 4 in the US, giving John his biggest hit there since “Little Jeannie”. He placed hits in the US Top Ten throughout the 1980s – “Little Jeannie” (number 3, 1980), “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” (number 5, 1984), “Nikita” boosted by a mini-movie pop video directed by Ken Russell (number 7, 1986), a live orchestral version of “Candle in the Wind” (number 6, 1987), and “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” (number 2, 1988). His highest-charting single was a collaboration with Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, and Stevie Wonder on “That’s What Friends Are For” (number 1, 1985); credited as Dionne and Friends, the song raised funds for AIDS research. His albums continued to sell, but of the six released in the latter half of the 1980s, only Reg Strikes Back (number 16, 1988) placed in the Top 20 in the United States.

In 1985, Elton John was one of the many performers at Live Aid held at Wembley Stadium.[45] John played “Bennie and the Jets” and “Rocket Man”; then “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” with Kiki Dee for the first time in years; and introduced his friend George Michael, still then of Wham!, to sing “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”.[45] He enlisted Michael to sing backing vocals on his single “Wrap Her Up“, and also recruited teen idol Nik Kershaw as an instrumentalist on “Nikita”. John also recorded material with Millie Jackson in 1985. In 1986, he played the piano on two tracks on the heavy metal band Saxon’s album Rock the Nations.

In 1988, he performed five sold-out shows at New York’s Madison Square Garden,[46] giving him 26 for his career. Netting over $20 million, 2,000 items of John’s memorabilia were auctioned off at Sotheby’s in London.[47]

In 1992 he released the US number 8 album The One, featuring the hit song “The One“.[50][51] John and Taupin then signed a music publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music for an estimated $39 million over 12 years, giving them the largest cash advance in music publishing history.[52] In April 1992, John appeared at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, performing “The Show Must Go On” with the remaining members of Queen, and “Bohemian Rhapsody” with Axl Rose and Queen.[53] The following year, he released Duets, a collaboration with 15 artists including Tammy Wynette and RuPaul. This also included a new collaboration with Kiki Dee, entitled “True Love”, which reached the Top 10 of the UK charts, and a duet with Eric Clapton on “Runaway Train”, which also charted.[54]

In 1995 John released Made in England (number 3, 1995), which featured the single “Believe”.[59] Also, a compilation called Love Songs was released the following year.[60]

Early in 1997 John held a 50th birthday party, costumed as Louis XIV, for 500 friends. John also performed with the surviving members of Queen in Paris at the opening night (17 January 1997) of Le Presbytère N’a Rien Perdu De Son Charme Ni Le Jardin De Son Éclat, a work by French ballet legend Maurice Béjart which draws upon AIDS and the deaths of Freddie Mercury and the company’s principal dancer Jorge Donn. Later in 1997, two close friends died: designer Gianni Versace was murdered; Diana, Princess of Wales died in a Paris car crash on 31 August.[61]

In March 2007 he performed at Madison Square Garden for a record breaking 60th time for his 60th birthday, the concert was broadcast live and a DVD recording was released as Elton 60 – Live at Madison Square Garden;[77] a greatest-hits compilation CD, Rocket Man – Number Ones, was released in 17 different versions worldwide, including a CD/DVD combo; and his back catalogue – almost 500 songs from 32 albums – became available for legal download.[78]

In a September 2008 interview with GQ magazine, John said: “I’m going on the road again with Billy Joel again next year,” referring to “Face to Face,” a series of concerts featuring both musicians. The tour began in March and will continue for at least two more years.[79]

In October 2003, John announced that he had signed an exclusive agreement to perform 75 shows over three years at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. The show, entitled The Red Piano, was a multimedia concert featuring massive props and video montages created by David LaChapelle. Effectively, he and Celine Dion share performances at Caesars Palace throughout the year – while one performs, one rests. The first of these shows took place on 13 February 2004.[80] On 21 June 2008, he performed his 200th show in Caesars Palace. A DVD/CD package of The Red Piano was released through Best Buy in November 2008. A two year global tour was sandwiched between commitments in Las Vegas, Nevada, some of the venues of which were new to John. The Red Piano Tour closed in Las Vegas in April 2009.

Elton John performed a piano duet with Lady Gaga at the 52nd Grammy Awards.[81] On 6 June 2010, John performed at the fourth wedding of conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh for a reported US$1 million fee.[82] Eleven days later, and 17 years to the day after his last previous performance in Israel, he performed at the Ramat Gan Stadium; this was significant because of other then-recent cancellations by other performers in the fallout surrounding an Israeli raid on Gaza Flotilla the month before. In his introduction to that concert, Elton John noted he and other musicians should not “cherry-pick our conscience”, in reference to Elvis Costello, who was to have performed in Israel two weeks after Elton did, but cancelled in the wake of the aforementioned raid, citing his [Costello’s] conscience.[83][84]

John’s latest studio album is entitled The Union and was released on 19 October 2010. John says his collaboration with American singer-songwriter and sideman Leon Russell marks a new chapter in his recording career, saying: “I don’t have to make pop records any more.”[85]

The 1991 film documentary Two Rooms described the writing style that John and Taupin use, which involves Taupin writing the lyrics on his own, and John then putting them to music, with the two never in the same room during the process.

Personal life

In April 2009, the Sunday Times Rich List estimated John’s wealth to be £175 million ($265 million), and ranked him as the 322nd richest person in Britain.[89]

In a 1976 Rolling Stone interview, he talked about bisexuality, his belief that everyone is bisexual to a degree, and that his first sexual experience was with a woman, the secretary Linda Woodrow to whom he proposed, and who is mentioned in the song “Someone Saved My Life Tonight“.[90][91] John married German recording engineer Renate Blauel on 14 February, 1984, in Sydney, with speculation that the marriage was a cover; when they divorced four years later John told Rolling Stone that he was “comfortable” being gay.[92]

He met his Canadian partner David Furnish, a former advertising executive and now filmmaker, in 1993. On 21 December 2005, they entered into a civil partnership. The night before the event, a host of his closest celebrity friends helped him celebrate his stag party at the cabaret nightclub Too2Much in London’s West End.[93] On the actual day, a low-key ceremony with their parents, photographer Sam Taylor-Wood and her husband Jay Jopling, and John and Furnish’s dog Arthur in attendance was held at the Windsor Guildhall, followed by a lavish party at their Berkshire mansion,[94] thought to have cost £1 million.[95] Many famous guests were invited, but were delayed just outside John’s Windsor household in a traffic jam of guests waiting to get inside.[96]

Throughout his career, John has battled addictions to alcohol and cocaine. By 1975, the pressures of stardom began to take a serious toll on the musician. During “Elton Week” in Los Angeles that year, John suffered a drug overdose.[105] He also battled the eating disorder bulimia. In a CNN interview with Larry King in 2002, King asked if John knew of Diana, Princess of Wales’ eating disorder. John replied, “Yes, I did. We were both bulimic.”[106]

During the 2000 court case, in which John sued both his former manager John Reid, the CEO of Reid’s company and accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers, he admitted spending £30 million in just under two years – an average of £1.5 million a month, the High Court in London heard. The singer’s lavish lifestyle saw him spend more than £9.6m on property and £293,000 on flowers between January 1996 and September 1997. John accused the pair of being negligent, and PwC of failing in their duties. Mark Hapgood QC for defendants PwC suggested that John went “spending mad” following a £42 million deal with recording company Polygram in February 1996. When quizzed by Mr Hapgood about the £293,000 spent on flowers, John said, “Yes, I like flowers.” John stated that the terms of the contract, whereby John paid Reid 20% of his gross earnings, were agreed in Saint-Tropez in the summer of 1984 – but that he could not remember the exact occasion on which the deal was made.[108] After losing the case, he faced an £8 million bill for legal fees.

In June 2001 John sold 20 of his cars at Christie’s, saying he didn’t get the chance to drive them because he was out of the country so often.[109] The sale, which included a 1993 Jaguar XJ220, the most expensive at £234,750, and several Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, and Bentleys, raised nearly £2 million.[110]

In 2003, John sold the contents of his Holland Park home in a bid to create more room for his collection of contemporary art which includes many works of art by YBAs such as Sam Taylor-Wood and Tracy Emin. The auctioneer Sotheby’s catalogue had a list of more than 400 items, expected to fetch £800,000, including: Biedermeier furniture; early 16th- and 17th-century items, including an Edward Bower estimated at £20,000–£30,000, and two busts of Napoleon.[111]

A longtime tennis enthusiast, John wrote the song “Philadelphia Freedom” in tribute to longtime friend Billie Jean King and her World Team Tennis franchise of the same name. John and King also co-host an annual pro-am event to benefit AIDS charities, most notably John’s own Elton John AIDS Foundation, for which King is a chairperson. The fund was involved in The Reign, too.

John, who maintains a part-time residence in Atlanta, Georgia, became a fan of the Atlanta Braves baseball team when he moved there in 1991.[112]

Every year since 2004, he has opened a shop, selling his second hand clothes. Called “Elton’s Closet” the sale this year of 10,000 items was expected to raise $400,000[113]

John and partner David Furnish entered a civil partnership in 2005 after 12 years together. Their son Zachary Jackson Levon Furnish-John was born 25 December 2010 in California via a surrogate. Zachary weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces.[115][116]. Ingrid Sischy (and her partner Sandy Brant) and Lady Gaga were named Zachary’s godmothers respectively.[117]

Watford Football Club

John became chairman and director of Watford Football Club in 1976, appointing Graham Taylor as manager and investing large sums of money as the club rose three division into the First Division.[118] The pinnacle of the clubs’ success was finishing runners up in the First Division and reaching the FA Cup Final a year later. He sold the club to Jack Petchey in 1987, but remained their life-long president.[119] In 1997 he re-purchased the club from Petchey and once again became chairman. He stepped down in 2002 when the club needed a full-time chairman although he continued as president of the club.[119] Although no longer the majority shareholder, he stills holds a significant financial interest. In June 2005 he held a concert at Watford’s Vicarage Road ground, donating the funds to the club, and another concert in May 2010.[119] For a time he was also a part-owner of the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League.

John founded the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992 as a charity to fund programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention, for the elimination of prejudice and discrimination against HIV/AIDS-affected individuals, and for providing services to people living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. This cause continues to be one of his personal passions. In early 2006, John donated the smaller of two bright-red Yamaha pianos from his Las Vegas, Nevada show to auction on eBay to raise public awareness and funds for the foundation.

To raise money for his AIDS charity, John hosts annually a glamorous White Tie & Tiara Ball, to which many famous celebrities are invited. On 28 June 2007, the 9th annual White Tie & Tiara Ball took place. The menu consisted of a trufflesoufflé followed by Surf and Turf (filet mignon with Mainelobster tail) and a giant Knickerbocker glory ice cream. An auction followed the dinner held by Stephen Fry. A Rolls Royce ‘Phantom’ drophead coupe and a piece of Tracey Emin‘s artwork both raised £800,000 for the charity fund, with the total amount raised reaching £3.5 million.[120] Later on in the event, John sang “Delilah” with Tom Jones and “Big Spender” with Shirley Bassey.[121] Tickets for the Ball cost £1,000 a head. The event raised £4.6 million for his AIDS Foundation in 2006.[122]

^ In his 1981 book “Thank U Very Much – Mike McCartney’s Family Album” Scaffold singer Mike McGear (McCartney) describes a meeting with John during which John advises him he used to sing background vocals for the group.